This week, we look back at Connecticut and a law that allows biological males to compete—and often claim victory—in female high school sports. ADF client Selina Soule explained her side of the story on The Today Show. Plus, we look at the dangers religious liberty in America faces, scientific evidence that shows no amount of hormone therapy takes away male competitive advantages, and what Abby Johnson says to do when a Planned Parenthood employee leaves the abortion giant. All of this from the Alliance Alert team.

ADF in the News

Selina Soule is a high school track athlete with dreams of taking her athletic talents to college. Unfortunately, she is up against an unfair advantage in her home state of Connecticut, where biological males are being allowed to compete as girls based on their beliefs about gender. Earlier this year, Selina was left as a spectator of her own sport when the top two spots in the qualifying competition for the regional championship were taken by biological males. Selina became a spectator in the race she should have run. She was recently featured on The Today Show, where she explained her decision to file a Title IX complaint—along with other female athletes and their parents—asking for a federal investigation into the situation.

Religious Freedom

Is religious liberty under threat in the United States? According to David French of National Review the answer is "yes." Writing at the Wall Street Journal, French looks at watershed moments in American history—including the 2015 Obergefell decision on same-sex marriage—to demonstrate how religious liberty has come under attack even in a nation that specifically protects it. As French points out, common myths about religious liberty have seeped into the American conscience, resulting in the erosion of a freedom guaranteed under the First Amendment.

Marriage and the Family

A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Ethics is further proof of the obvious: biological males have athletic advantages over females. Written by two bioethics professors and a physiology professor, the study demonstrates that hormone treatments have little effect on testosterone levels and do not compensate for other biological advantages such as bone structure, lung capacity, and heart size. Even so, the authors of the study still argue for the effective elimination of female athletics. That would be one immediate outcome of the so-called "Equality Act," which passed in the House of Representatives last month. If enacted, the Equality Act would erase many of the key gains women have made over the past 50 years, creating an unequal playing field for female athletics in the process.

Sanctity of Life

When former president Dr. Leana Wen was pushed out of Planned Parenthood, reportedly because she did not pay enough attention to the abortion giant's unrelenting focus on terminating human life in the womb, another ex-Planned Parenthood official understood her situation right away. Abby Johnson, who transformed from Planned Parenthood clinic director to pro-life stalwart, writes at Fox News that Wen’s commitment to health care and the abortion-focused mission of Planned Parenthood were destined to clash. Johnson goes on to recall the love and support she received after quitting Planned Parenthood, and urges the same community to reach out and support Dr. Wen.

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